Situated on 45 acres that once made up a prosperous family farm, but is now leased from the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, it provides new farmers—many born outside Canada—with growing space while they learn their skills.

The goal of the operation is “basically to create sustainable farms that can meet the growing demand for local food,” says FarmStart’s startup farm programs co-ordinator Ian McCormick, “sustainable, not only environmentally and socially, but financially.”

The McVean Farm is so close to the city it gives shoppers the chance to buy the freshest produce around. “You can harvest the same day you go to market,” says McDonald.

In the past century, urban growth has encroached on what was once a rural area; the McVean Farm is now surrounded by suburban houses. That speaks to southern Ontario’s shrinking pool of farmland—and the people to farm it. But new farmers like McDonald are reversing that history.

“I like the fact that we bring tonnes of food to Ontarians,” she says. “We are a huge part of the local food movement here.”

Edible City is a fun, fast-paced journey through the local Good Food Movement that’s taking root in the San Francisco Bay Area, across the nation and around the world. Introducing a diverse cast of extraordinary and eccentric characters who are challenging the paradigm of our broken food system, Edible City digs into their unique perspectives and transformative work— from edible education to grassroots activism to building local economies— finding hopeful solutions to monumental problems. Inspirational, down-to-earth and a little bit quirky, Edible City captures the spirit of a movement that’s making real change and doing something truly revolutionary: growing the model for a healthy, sustainable local food system.